Humility
by Leoshi
Summary: Discord is not what he used to be. He's felt things more sharply for the last few days. Worried about his well-being, he seeks out the ponies he feels can best help him. Friendship is magic, after all, and this is a matter of magic. And Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, has none.
1. Prologue: Seeking Attention

**Humility**

Something stranger than usual from Leoshi!

!Disclaimer!: It would be a lot of fun to own Discord. The horns, the flying, all the chocolate milk rain I would ever need. But, as depressing as it is to admit, I do not, in fact, own Discord. Neither to I own what spawned him. You can thank and support the masters at Discovery Family for that one, particularly Faust and Theisson!

Remember how Tirek turns on Discord and claimed his magic? Ever wonder why we never see Discord use his magic after that? He's wondering, too.

**Prologue:** Seeking Attention

Summer in Ponyville was a glorious time. Down any road saw ponies enjoying the day to the fullest, whether it was selling their wares, filling their stomachs, or simply playing with friends. After the trouble with Tirek, the citizens of Ponyville - and, of course, the rest of Equestria - better appreciated their innate magic. It was not explicit, but it could be seen and felt in the way ponied handled themselves.

The alicorn responsible for restoring their magic had been awarded with a tree-like palace, as well. Despite how it stood out from the landscape, the residents took to it well. It was less an eyesore and more a trophy, a symbol that their home was also the home of a heroine. And there was someone standing outside the doors to that palace.

He made for an interesting sight. An amalgamation of creatures unlike any seen in the world, standing outside a set of golden doors. He was clearly hesitant, and passers-by could barely make out the hint of fear that shone behind his eyes. The draconequus - the only one in existence - had been mustering up the courage to knock for the last ten minutes.

Eventually, he did. And when he finally knocked, he allowed himself exactly two seconds before letting himself into the palace of Twilight Sparkle. That, as well, was an interesting sight to behold, since the Princess of Friendship kept an open-door policy. Knocking from anypony was purely a courtesy.

The entryway was just as he remembered it. Cut from stone, imbued with magic, and decorated loftily from one corner to the next. He quietly made his way up the staircase, which led him into the next hallway. A series of doors on either side met him, and he knew that the one pony he sought was behind one of them.

He cleared his throat. "Twilight?" he called. The echoes of his voice answered him.

"Twilight?" he tried again, louder this time. A moment later, one of the doors to his left opened, and a purple head with green spines poked out to look at him.

"Oh, hey Discord," Spike greeted. "How are you? Sorry, Twilight's been going through the new library recently, and she tends to get addle-brained from the work."

Discord nodded while giving a wave. "Hello, Spike. I had a feeling she would be busy, but...if I could possibly borrow her for a moment, I would feel so much better."

The dragon gave a quizzical look. "This isn't some prank that Rainbow Dash put you up to, is it? I _know_ she wants to get me back for putting hot sauce in her smoothie last week."

"Oh, that was you!" Discord laughed. "Classic. Well, no, this isn't any prank. It's actually kind of serious."

Spike waited a moment, just looking at the towering creature, before he shrugged and walked back through the open door. Discord followed at a small distance, taking one step for every three of Spike's.

The dragon had not been lying. Twilight's new library, though certainly impressive, was in a state of disarray. Books, carts of books, and a line of carts for books were all scattered around the wing - some clearly in use, others ignored for a day or more. The shelves along the wall were slowly being filled, most of them held in place by Twilight's distinctive purple aura of magic. Twilight herself was standing in the middle of the chaos, looking from one shelf to the next before pulling out a book from one of the many piles. She would read the spine, give a nod or a shake, then - depending on her judgment - either place the book on a spot along the wall, or drop it where it was and begin an entirely new pile.

"Good luck getting her attention. My record today has been ten minutes," Spike warned before padding toward the library's second floor. Discord waved at him, then made his way through the warzone.

A moment later, he stood behind the alicorn. "Twilight?" he called.

Just like Spike had warned, Twilight's focus was totally centered on her work, and thus she didn't register her name being called. He tried two more times - "Twilight Sparkle?", "Princess Pony-Pal?" - before deciding to try another approach. Clearly she was more interested in her books, so he needed to draw her attention.

When she began to float one book toward her, he merely reached out and grabbed it. With it stopped, Twilight finally broke out of her zone with a confused grunt. She looked over her withers, finally seeing her guest.

"Gah!" she screamed, dispelling all of her magic at once. Several _clunks_ sounded throughout the library, including some from the second-floor study which came with a groan from Spike. Twilight, shaking her head to clear her confusion, finally looked at Discord properly.

"Sorry," he began. "But I wasn't sure how else to get your attention."

She gave a hearty sigh. "Why does everypony resort to surprising me?" she muttered. "Don't they know I have a name?"

Discord raised a lion-finger to make a point, but decided against it. That sort of thing could wait. The reason he came here, though, could not. "Yes, well, listen. Could I borrow you for a moment? I have something of a problem, and...well, it's rather new to me."

Twilight gave him a suspicious look, then turned to consider the state of her library. "I guess I could, at least for a few minutes. What's going on?"

'_Finally,'_ he thought. With a nervous gulp, Discord looked toward the messy floor. "You remember how...Tirek betrayed me before he came for you? And then you and our friends restored the magic he stole to all of Equestria?"

A scoff. "Yeah, like I could forget it. You're not here to talk about him, are you?" She slowly picked up a book from the floor near her. Discord got a good look at the cover; it was the collective journal of the six friends.

"No, not exactly."

"So?" Twilight prompted. Unseen to both of them, Spike had poked his head over the railing of the second floor, watching the exchange with interest.

Discord swallowed his anxiety, then came clean. "Twilight...I never got my magic back."

The journal hit the ground with a loud _thunk_, then silence.


	2. One: I've Known for a While

**Humility**

Leoshi breaching waters stranger than fiction!

!Disclaimer!: Faust drew Discord. That means Faust owns Discord. What do I own? A nice, red mug from which I drink coffee. The mug is not Discord. Neither is it the show upon which he is based. Stop asking!

In this newer story, Discord came to Twilight Sparkle with a problem. He never got his magic back from Tirek! So now we follow him as he's turned into a glorified test subject for the purple pony princess. What truths can she uncover? And how will everyone's favorite villain handle them?

**Chapter one:** I've Known for a While

"So, you mean..._all_ of it?"

A nod.

"Not a single spell? Nothing?"

A shake.

"But...how?"

A sigh. "If I knew, I wouldn't be here."

Twilight pranced about in front of Discord, himself awkwardly sitting on one of the many pony-sized chairs strewn about the library. It had been only a few precious minutes since he told Twilight of his problem. She had met the issue with some deserved skepticism - Discord was a magical being, after all, so his very existence would have trumped his worries.

The purple pony princess ducked behind a nearby doorway, then returned with a small device that would have scared any normal creature. It was metallic, angled with various tubes and gauges, and sported anywhere from two to twenty small nodes held in place by plastic clamps. She struggled with lifting the apparatus in her magic, showing just how heavy it really was. To his surprise, many of the gauges and readings were active within her aura of magic. Twilight set the device down on the floor in front of Discord, then turned her attention to the various nodes. With the magic gone, the gauges immediately sped to zero.

"I hope you don't mind if I make sure. Uh, from where is your magic usually controlled?"

Discord didn't look away from the intimidating device. He swore it was smiling at him. "What now?"

"You know, the part of your body that usually controls your magic. On a unicorn, it would be her horn. Do you have anything like that?"

"Hm..." Discord took a moment to look over his body. "You know, I've never needed to find out. My magic has always been a part of me, and I controlled it as naturally as breathing. It never felt like it was in any one place."

Twilight groaned. "It was never centralized? Like, in your fingers when you snap? Your wrists? The back of your head?"

The draconequus shrugged, then went back to staring at the grinning machine. "Why do you need to know, anyway? And what will this _thing_ do?"

"This?" She casually lifted a selection of nodes in the air, inspecting them one by one. "It's my personal Thaumatic gauge. There's usually one in any hospital that accepts unicorn patients, to measure their magical output in case an overload occurs. This particular one I got on special order. Like any other gauge, it can measure magical potential, but it's also been modified for the Elements of Harmony...I mean, back when we had them anyway."

"So you're saying I'm sick?" Discord asked. The device seemed to smile wider with the nodes detached.

Twilight shook her head, then moved on with her inspection. "I don't know yet. This device should tell me how much magic is still present within you."

"I just _told_ you, though..."

"I know, I know. But if I'm going to help you, I need data. Readings. As many Thaums as I can gauge."

"Are you enjoying this turn of events?" Discord asked. He instinctively sunk deeper into the too-small chair, trying to distance himself from the device.

To her credit, Twilight gasped and looked him square in the eye. "Don't be absurd! Anyone who loses their special talent would be lost and frustrated! I know that from personal experience. Losing magic is like losing a part of yourself."

Discord nodded and relaxed, inch by inch, back into the chair. Then promptly tensed again when Twilight added "I can't say you don't _deserve_ it a little, though."

"Wait, what-"

He was cut off by the feeling of cold plastic waving in front of his elongated muzzle. Twilight was speaking again, and he had to focus to catch her words. "-ince you're a magical being, I guess I can just place these anywhere. You're not ticklish, are you?"

Discord blanched. "You _are_ enjoying this!"

_Cold._ The nodes were cold. The first one pressed right up against his forehead. Then another - _cold!_ Then more, all over. He swore there were more nodes on him than there had been on the machine when Twilight had brought it out! _'And are some of those color-coded?'_ he thought.

Discord, shaking off the shock from the contact, looked at Twilight while she moved behind her device. Several web-thin cords fed into the apparatus, each one connected to a node on his body. The machine truly looked like a predator happy to have caught its prey.

"This won't hurt, will it?" he tentatively asked.

"Well, in theory, it-"

"Nevermind, I don't want to know."

"...hm, suit yourself. Now, all I need from you is to keep breathing normally. If you start to feel panicked, let me know. Heightened emotions tend to affect the readings."

"Breathe. Okay."

Twilight's horn sparked to life one more, and this time she magically gripped just one part of the gauge - a small green lever. "Seriously. I've used this machine on many unicorns, but never on one quite like you. Stay calm for me, okay?"

Discord closed his eyes, ignoring the toothy grin. "Breathe. Okay," he repeated.

With a nod, Twilight turned to look at her Thaumatic gauge, waited a beat, then willed the lever down. The machine instantly began to whir, and the pins in a few small readouts began to spin as they initialized. She split her focus between three particular gauges, each of which was meant to measure a different aspect on magic. For a while, all three of them remained at zero.

The draconequus focused on his own steady breathing. He shut out the noise of the apparatus and the image of its manic mechanical mouth. For several moments, he only paid attention to his own breathing. He prided himself in that - learning to remain calm was among the first crucial skills he had gained after losing to Celestia and Luna. Spending time as a statue for a millenium was nothing to sneeze at.

A few minutes passed before the whirring of the Thaumatic gauge finally quieted. Discord opened one eye, immediately noticing that Twilight had her back turned to him. She was _still_ considering her readout. With another deep breath to prepare to the facts, Discord opened both eyes properly.

"Well?" he prompted.

Twilight began to tremble. It was subtle at first; Spike, watching from upstairs, didn't yet notice it. But after a moment, the trembles became shakes. Twilight was slowly shaking her head, denying whatever it was she saw.

Discord let out the breath he had taken in. _'That can't be good.'_

"I...wait, but this...is..." she was muttering to herself. Lifting a hoof, Twilight tapped on the glass to her gauge, causing the pins inside to shake within their housings. There was one that she kept returning to, as well - a larger, half-circle readout that sat above the set of three. Set in the middle of this gauge was a collection of symbols - a set of stars within the trunk of a tree.

Discord craned his neck, noticing that the pin hadn't moved at all. A second later, Twilight slowly turned to face him. She looked mortified.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I thought you were joking."

The draconequus gave a sad but knowing nod. "I thought so." The reply was both in response to her, and to what he now knew was fact.

"Discord, you..."

"What can you tell me?" he asked, just as eager for data as she.

Twilight blinked. She couldn't help but notice a change in his posture. Despite sitting on a cramp-inducing chair, Discord looked entirely defeated. Nothing about his was tense or prepared for an argument - he was just _there_.

She turned halfway, and began to explain after a moment. "I..." She cleared her throat and tried again. "There was no Thaumatic reaction whatsoever. The three main gauges...uh, the ones that measure unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony magic respectively, all stayed at zero. I was...expecting that." She shot him a guilty look. "Sorry, it's just that you're not like us. I had no reason to expect those to move..

Discord gave a sigh. Of _course_ he had to be considered different by pony standards. Then again, he couldn't - and indeed didn't - fault her for the assumption.

"But this one here-" she turned and tapped on the final gauge, the one with the odd symbol, "-is what's worrying me the most. It didn't move either."

"What's that one mean?"

"I had to modify this one for the machine. It measures the connection somepony has to the essence of Harmony as a magical force. Essentially, how closely aligned he or she is to the power from the Tree of Harmony itself. And..."

Discord huffed. He knew exactly what had happened. "Let me guess. It didn't move either," he said as he gently popped off the various nodes.

Twilight gave a violent shake of her head. "It doesn't make sense! Our culture has _centralized_ the virtues of harmony! Everyone has some measure of it within, but it didn't work." With a sudden jolt, she moved to the back side of the Thaumatic gauge. She was frantic, yet focused, an odd combination to see. "This isn't broken, is it? Have I missed something? Spike, I need your help!"

The draconequus reached out his lion paw and gently laid it across Twilight's withers. "Your contraption isn't broken, Twilight Sparkle. I'm certain it's working just fine."

She shook him off. "No, that can't be right. How could it possibly _not_ register the power of Harmony? Even Spike has been exposed to enough magic to cause it to jump! What am I missing?"

"I'm over here."

"Huh?" she grunted, looking his way again. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Discord gave a small laugh. _'I thought she would have figured it out by now.'_ "Well, what am I? Not a pony, as you already said. What else is there?"

Twilight, confused by the sudden question, looked him over. She took stock of his figure, all the different animal parts that made up his body. In the back of her mind, she remembered the first time she had laid eyes on him.

It had been right as she and her friends had reached the entrance to the hedge labyrinth in Canterlot. He had appeared before them in a flash of light, reared back, and gave a gleeful laugh under branches of lightning. He had been quite intimidating back then, and in some respects still was. But that was just what she had seen. What else was there?

Her eyes sparkled with a realization. "Oh...no..."

"Now you get it."

"But that...that means any method I have to help you won't work!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Discord! This is serious! If your magic is the opposite of Harmony...!"

Once again, he set his paw on her withers, calming her down a little at a time. "Then you were never able to return it when you returned everypony else's. I know."

"But-"

"I've known for a while, actually. 'Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony' and all that. I just wanted to make sure, to hear it from somepony I respected."

It was Twilight's turn to look defeated. She had never, _never_ considered this consequence to her actions. When she had harnessed the gift to defeat Tirek, the pure power seemed to tell her exactly what to do. It was otherworldly, yet more thrilling than anything she had ever experienced. She didn't have to think about what to do - she just acted.

Of course, that was all for the magic of ponykind. The residents who shared Equestria and called it their home. The Tree of Harmony and the power it contained helped give strength to the land, and it was that same power that had allowed their stolen magic to be returned when Tirek had been beaten. And the one creature she knew whose power was the antithesis of Harmony's virtues had been completely excluded, despite the fact that he was just as much a victim.

For once in her life, a problem had arisen purely because she had relied on the magic of friendship. Harmony had left someone out.

She blinked back tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

They were silent for a while. Discord took his paw away and rested it on his lap instead, coping with the fact that he was as powerless as a common woodland critter. He entertained the thought of behaving like one for the amusement of Fluttershy, but of course she would never stand for that. Besides, he would sooner eat paper again than alfalfa pellets.

Eventually, he stood up, stretched his cramped limbs, and turned to leave. As he walked - dragging his feet, no less - he spotted little Spike, looking his way from the library's staircase. Discord gave him a small smile, one that simply thanked the dragon for letting him in.

"Wait!" Twilight called.

Discord turned his neck to look at her. She stood among the dropped nodes and their cords, ignoring them and what they had shown her. Instead, she looked directly at him, her gaze still pitiful but with a small glint of desperation as well.

"I want to help," she said. "Is there anything I can do? Can I make this better?"

Discord hesitated, then shot her a sidelong smile. "Don't lose sleep over me, Twilight. As you said, maybe I deserve this."

"I didn't-...no, I didn't mean that!" she shouted, stepping over the nodes like they were brambles. "It was a joke, and I feel stupid for making it. You've changed, Discord! You were going to use your magic for good, right? What you _deserve_ is to have it!"

"I betrayed you, didn't I? And this is my way of paying the price."

"Well, I don't like it. You may have betrayed us, but we've forgiven you. I'm going to find a way to make this better, I promise."

Discord's smile widened, warmer in the face of her genuine concern. "Thank you. But I don't think it will be of any use."

Without another word, Discord left the library and shut the door behind him. Twilight and Spike were left alone in the library amidst the silent books and still-grinning Thaumatic gauge. It was a good minute before the pony moved. She looked down at her hooves, finally noticing that she had been standing on her books. Some of the pages were being pulled out of the spine due to the pressure.

Twilight swallowed a lump, took a deep breath, and focused. She looked at her dragon friend. "Change of plans, Spike," she said in a shaky voice. "Shelving day will need to wait. Right now I need to send a letter."

**End chapter one**


	3. Two: Dirt and Straw

**Chapter two:** Dirt and Straw

_Snap._

In another circumstance, the town would be in a much different state. The grass would be speckled with a pattern of garish colors, the roads would be coated with soap and bubbles, and the buildings themselves would be thrown into stasis. Anomalies would occur in every corner - buffalos in tutus, piglets with wings, giant shakers of pepper spilling their contents on passers-by. Ponies would laugh, then would scream, then would beg for their world to return to normal.

_Snap_.

Normalcy. Such a nice, clean, boring aspect. A normal day in a normal life, where the only concern of a mother was what flavor of jelly to pair with peanut butter. Where a child needn't worry about losing his way home, or forgetting where the edge of the dangerous forest began. Where friends were friendly, families were loving, and nothing unexpected ever happened. At least, not without a swift intervention by a group of heroines.

_Snap_.

DIscord used to hate 'normal.' He used to hate order and sense, choosing instead to inject his own brand of peculiarity. Music from rocks, chocolate from clouds, solid structures changed to flimsy cardboard. There was simply no fun in making sense, so he chose nonsense. It was and always has been a conflict of order versus chaos, one that he enjoyed even in defeat. He was unique in his abilities, his form, and his desire, and he proudly wore that fact like a badge.

Now order had won once again, but this time it was different. 'Normal' had changed.

_Snap_.

Two ponies whipped their eyes toward Discord, himself holding his outstretched eagle-hand toward them. The sound of his snapping fingers flew around their heads for a split second. Both of the ponies were surprised on two accounts. The first was that Discord, who had sworn not to use his powers on Ponyville citizens, had just attempted to do just that. The second was that nothing had happened despite his attempt.

Discord didn't look at them as they slowly continued on. He instead stared at his hand, pressing his fingers together once again. His gaze shifted to a nearby flower. _Snap_. In his mind's eye, the flower grew to the size of a building and began to sing every song in Equestrian culture off-key. But the flower, of course, remained a flower, silent and beautiful and boring.

'Normal.' He began to hate it once again.

Discord withdrew his hand and began to wander aimlessly through Ponyville's center. Ponies who personally knew him simply stepped aside, while those who simply knew his reputation actively avoided his path. In all cases, the populace left him to his thoughts, which were as chaotic as his nature. Of course, this time, the chaos brought him no glee.

His thoughts were rampant, saddened, wistful, and senseless. They were not the product of his scheming or pranking, but the result of something else. His mind wasn't part of the cause, just the effect. Discord scoffed at himself. He was having a _reaction_ to the news. And a reaction like this was perfectly normal.

He paused and looked around. Normal ponies would not be avoided. If a pony was seen walking down the road with a long face, no fewer than four other ponies would flock to their side. Chances were high that one of those ponies would be Pinkie Pie. What made _this_ brand of 'normal' different?

The answer was obvious. 'Normal' wasn't what had changed. The concept of normalcy was his opposite, the yin to his yang. He was chaos incarnate, the Spirit of Disharmony, and as such 'normal' was simply not possible for him. It was a way of life he had never practiced. Yet here he was, as typical as a common cloud. The normal way of life had brought him into its fold. Change had found him.

He kicked a nearby stone and sent it tumbling along the road. _'I knew there was a reason. There was always a reason why I hated normal.'_

He decided he was angry. He did not decide at whom.

Discord looked at the distant rock he had just kicked. _Snap_. The rock remained a rock.

* * *

><p>It was some time later when he spotted her. Of course it would be her; who else? Out of all the ponies he considered friends, she was by far the most genuine. It came as no surprise that she would have been told the news, and neither was it a surprise that she would seek him out. She was searching the buildings one by one, looking on the ground when her target was above it. Door after door she opened, window after window she peered through, each time never losing pace.<p>

Eventually, he decided to help her out. As she passed beneath him, he gripped a tuft of straw, pulled it loose, and let it fall to the ground. Many strands fell on her mane (and face, when she finally looked up), causing her to shake herself clean. Discord held up a hand to greet her, but didn't say a word.

Fluttershy was too concerned to be embarrassed about the straw. She spread her wings and leaped up to the roof, where Discord sat waiting for her. She didn't waste any time before speaking her mind.

"Discord! Are you okay? Twilight told me what happened! Well, it was actually Spike who told me, because he came and found me earlier and told me on the way to the castle. How are you feeling? Can I-"

Discord silenced her by gently placing his lion paw atop her head. With the soft pressure, Fluttershy stopped mid-syllable and looked around her mane at him. He gave a silent laugh, then rubbed her head. Her mane instantly went from 'free flow' to 'bed head.'

She shook herself free. "Discord!" she scoffed.

"Good to see you, Fluttershy, but one question at a time, hm?"

She paused to pat down her mane. "Are you...are you okay?"

He gave a grim smile. It could just as easily have been a frown. Fluttershy wasn't sure.

"Uhm...what are you doing?"

"Oh, just enjoying the sunset."

"...it's just past three in the afternoon."

He nodded. "I suppose it is."

"And you're facing east. The sun sets in the west, you know."

"Hm. I suppose it does."

Fluttershy nodded. "You're not okay, then?"

Another grim smile-frown.

Both were silent for a while. It dawned on Fluttershy that perhaps her friend didn't _want_ to talk about the latest development in his life. For a fleeting moment, she considered leaving him to his thoughts while she went about her day. Then she considered it some more as the silence stretched on.

She reached a decision, and sat down next to him. "Um, ah...nice sunset...?" she pried.

"Fluttershy, I know you mean well, but you don't need to pretend for my sake."

The pegasus shrunk and looked in his direction. He had very nearly spat the words at her, but she could see regret cross his muzzle after he said them. Discord's eyes shifted, caught her looking his way, then shifted again.

"Sorry."

After a moment, she lightly tapped his coiled tail in a gesture of comfort. "It's okay."

They were silent once more. Fluttershy again thought about leaving her friend to his demons, but decided that since she had already planted herself, she should stay. This was for him, after all - he had the problem to overcome. So, with patience honed from years of watching over forest critters, she sat and waited for him to start.

It was a solid four minutes before he did. "How do you do it?"

The pegasus allowed herself a moment's grin in victory. "Do what?"

"Live each day like this?" Discord swept his eagle arm outward, gesturing to the town and landscape beyond.

"...um, what's wrong with this?" She blinked. "_It_. What's wrong with it?"

Discord scoffed. "Nothing. Everything. I don't know...this is just so boring! How can you stand it?"

"Well, I...have my friends to see, the critters in the meadows and forests to care for, and sometimes...something unexpected happens that we need to correct. Those all tend to make days quite lively, and not, uhm...boring."

The draconequus cocked an eyebrow. "What if you woke up one day and discovered that everything you knew was different? Or even worse, just _barely_ out of reach?"

"I think I would look for the good side in things. You know, the things that hadn't changed and I could still enjoy. Like tea parties and sleepovers."

"Hm. Different question, then." He slowly reached over and took hold of one of her feathers. The sensation of it being tugged made her want to recoil. "What if you woke up tomorrow and discovered you were missing your wings?"

Fluttershy was silent. She looked from his face to his lion hand then to her wing. "I..." She hesitated. "...I'm not sure."

"But why not? Isn't there a 'good side' to it? Wouldn't you still be able to visit your friends and enjoy your tea parties?"

"I- well...you're right, of course. I would still be able to do some things that I enjoy...but not being able to fly? I...actually, I think I would get used to it after a while."

Discord blew raspberries and turned away. "Get used to being something you're not? Get used to never touching clouds again or flying with your little birds? I get the feeling you didn't really think about you answer."

"Hey, there's no need to be mean about it!" she scolded. Discord only gazed at the town in response. "To be fair, being without my wings has only happened once. You remember when, don't you? And when it happened, it didn't matter. I needed to stay on the ground anyway."

"Mm-hmm," he muttered, still unconvinced. "So you know why I'm up here, don't you?"

"...yes."

"Think of me as a bird, Fluttershy. A full-grown falcon, who is proud to fly in the sky and roost in the trees. Now think of me without those wings."

"That's not the same thing, though," she argued. "A bird needs its wings in order to _live_. To survive each and every day. They're fundamental to-"

"So you think my magic isn't _fundamental_ to me?" he spat.

Fluttershy hesitated again. This was proving far more than she had expected. "...no. I just...think you'll be able to live even without your magic. It was a big part of you, yes, but not _all_ of you. You should be able to live happily without it..."

Discord waited a moment. Then he said "How ridiculous," slid off the rooftop, landed on the dirt road beneath, and began walking back into town.

Fluttershy was flustered. For the third time, she thought about leaving him alone. But for the second time, she mentally argued that she had already made her decision. She just realized that the choice she had made was the hard one, perhaps the hardest in a long time. The pony swallowed her doubt and decided to try again, gliding off the rooftop to join her friend.

Ahead of her, Discord glowered at anypony unlucky enough to cross his path. He still hadn't decided who deserved his anger.


End file.
